1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to flexible containers with liners used for transporting liquids, and in particular to land vehicle- and helicopter-transportable bags with a flexible reusable liner for transporting liquids.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A problem encountered in many remote areas without water resources is obtaining both potable and non-potable liquids. One example of this problem is the lack of potable water near personnel fighting wild land fires. Wild land fires are often fought in remote areas not accessible by roads. Furthermore, personnel are often in terrain which makes overland transportation of water extremely time and energy consuming. The present invention, unlike prior inventions, is particularly suited for solving this problem.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,378,069 issued to Franco on Mar. 29, 1983, for "Pouch With Pour Spout" discloses a laminated plastic pouch with a single pour spout. The top of the pour spout is designed to fracture when a radially inwardly directed force is applied to the sidewalls of the spout. This fracturing, however, makes the pouch non-reusable and may make it not suitable for rugged environments.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,960,227 issued to Coleman on Oct. 2, 1990, for "Bulk Material Container With A Flexible Liner" discloses a nonflexible outer shell with a flexible liner. The bottom of the liner has an outlet at the bottom which connects to an outlet assembly at the bottom of the outer shell. This outlet assembly includes a valve and tubing and is designed to be connected to a device, such as a vacuum pump, for withdrawing the bulk material from the liner. Such an elaborate system is not practical for dispensing water in the wild land fire environment.